GRAND RAPIDS – A political action committee calling itself Prosperity for Michigan has spent $215,000 on anti-Pete Hoekstra commercials in the Grand Rapids television market, marking the first outside money to come into the Aug. 7 Republican primary.

The ads started airing Monday and the intentions of the group – outside of backing Clark Durant to advance to the Nov. 6 general election against Sen. Debbie Stabenow – appear murky.

It has a barren website that lists only its name. Federal Elections Commission records list an intern and an employee at the Lansing law office of Richard McLellan as the treasurer and assistant treasurer of the committee.

Those documents show the group registered operations in March, but as of July 13 finance statements show it had no money on hand and had not spent any cash.

Jennifer Satterlee, the treasuer and McLellan firm worker, referred all questions to the Sterling Corporation, a Lansing public relations firm that bills itself as a “premier Republican communications company.” Representatives at Sterling were not immediately available for comment.

Satterlee said McLellan, a noted Republican activist, was not associated with the effort, but would not say how she and the office intern became involved.

McLellan, whose office is on the same floor of a Lansing office complex as the registered address for the PAC, could not be immediately reached.

"People know that Pete has always represented the people with distinction and has a proven record of making tough decisions which we need to get Michigan families working again,” VanWoerkom said. “It is disappointing but not surprising that Durant supporters would choose to take the campaign in a negative direction after polls were released showing Pete with a big lead.